1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to electrical computers and digital processing systems having processing architectures and performing instruction processing, and more particularly to such for processing instruction data that specifically supports or performs a data transfer operation.
2. Background Art
In the art of computing, processing speed is a much desired quality, and the quest to create faster computers and processors is ongoing. However, it is generally acknowledged in the industry that the limits for increasing the speed in microprocessors are rapidly being approached, at least using presently known technology. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in the use of multiple processors to increase overall computer speed by sharing computer tasks among the processors. But it is also generally acknowledged that there will, almost inevitably, be some decrease in overall efficiency involved in the sharing of the workload. That is, the old adage will apply that just because one person can dig a post hole in 60 minutes, it does necessarily follow that 60 people could dig a post hole in 1 minute. The same principle applies to almost any division of tasks, and the division of tasks among processors is no exception.
Of course, efforts are being made to make the sharing of tasks among computer processors more efficient. The question of exactly how the tasks are to be allocated is being examined and processes improved. In the course of work in this area it has been the present inventors' observation that it may be very cumbersome under some circumstances to transfer data from one CPU to another in a multi-CPU environment. For example, if data must be transferred from one CPU to another, and the target CPU is separated from the source CPU by one CPU between them, the source CPU must write the data to the CPU directly in line, which must then in turn read the data and then write it to the target CPU, which must then read the data. Such a process requires many read and write operations, and if a large quantity of data is being transferred, so many read and write commands may clog system operations.